Cassius Clay, left, who later became Muhammad Ali, fights Sonny Liston during their heavyweight title bout in Miami Beach, Fla., on Feb. 25, 1964. The two met at a time when the nation was on the eve of massive change. Still deep in mourning over the assassination of President John F. Kennedy just three months earlier, the country would be rocked by race riots in major cities in the long, hot summer ahead. (Associated Press archive photo)

“It was, no matter what you have read or heard, an enormously exciting fight.”

Here are some classic photos and video from the fight in Miami that propelled Muhammad Ali into a sports and cultural icon.

Cassius Clay (he would later change his name to Muhammad Ali) clowns around with the Beatles (from left, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr) on Feb. 18, 1964 at his training camp in Miami Beach, Fla. The Beatles were only a few days removed from their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. And Clay one week later would upset Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship. (Associated Press file photo)

Cassius Clay (left) was his usual assertive self at a weigh-in before his fight against heavyweight champion Sonny Liston later that night in Miami Beach.Clay was fined $2,500 for the spectacle. Liston weighed in a 218 pounds and Clay came in at 210 1/2. (Associated Press archive photo)

Cassius Clay, left, connects with a punch to the face of Sonny Liston during their first heavyweight championship fight in Miami Beach, Fla., on Feb. 25, 1964. Liston suffered a cut left eye and lost his title after he retired after the sixth round. (Associated Press archive photo)

Cassius Clay, left, connects a punch to the face of Sonny Liston in the third round before winning by TKO before the seventh of their heavyweight championship fight in Miami Beach, Fla., on Feb. 25, 1964. Soon after the fight, Clay changed his name to Cassius X, then to Muhammad Ali while becoming a cultural touchstone. (Associated Press archive photo)

Muhammad Ali, one week after beating Sonny Liston for the heavyweight boxing championship, with Malcolm X outside the Trans-Lux Newsreel Theater on Broadway at 49th Street in New York on March 1, 1964. The two had just watched a screening of Ali fight with Liston in Miami Beach. Two days after his fight with Liston, Cassius Clay announced he was a member of the Nation of Islam and was changing his name to Cassius X. He would later become Muhammad Ali as he broke away from Malcolm X and aligned himself with the sect’s leader, Elijiah Muhammad. “What is all the commotion about?” he asked. “Nobody asks other people about their religion. But now that I’m the champion I am the king so it seems the world is all shook up about what I believe.” (Associated Press file photo)

Here’s video of Clay’s famous post-fight interview in the ring (starting at 6:15):